The 5th meeting of the India-Vietnam Joint Trade Sub-Commission (JTSC) was recently held in New Delhi, and during the meeting, both nations expressed their commitment to addressing logistics challenges that impact bilateral trade. The significance of this meeting is also enhanced because it took place last in January 2019 and since then, has been on hold due to the pandemic and other disruptions.
The meeting was co-chaired by Rajesh Agrawal (Additional Secretary of the Department of Commerce, MoCI, and Phan Thi Thang (Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Trade, Vietnam).
The two countries recognized the immense potential for trade growth and explored strategies to unlock untapped opportunities. The key sectors for collaboration include agriculture, fisheries, textiles, footwear, pharmaceuticals, chemicals, fertilizers, machinery, equipment, consumer products, energy, and the automobile industry, to strengthen bilateral trade.
However, a critical and central theme of the meeting was finding solutions to logistics challenges that hamper smooth trade. A part of the suggestive measures includes exploring direct shipping services, collaborating on freight movement, and enhancing air connectivity.
Vietnam, ranked as India’s 23rd-largest global trade partner and the 5th largest within the ASEAN region, played a pivotal role in these discussions. The bilateral trade volume between the two nations reached USD 14.70 billion during the 2022-23 period. India’s iron and steel and various agricultural and animal products, such as meat, animal fodder, cereals, and marine products, found a significant market in Vietnam.
Moreover, the prospect of Mutual Recognition Agreements (MRAs) on professional services, internationalizing the RuPay card, QR-based payment systems, and domestic currency trade settlement was also introduced.
As India and Vietnam work together to address market access issues and technical barriers, the 5th JTSC meeting signifies a pivotal moment in their trade relations. The collaborative spirit exhibited during this meeting is expected to drive economic growth and deepen ties between these two rapidly expanding economies
